Yellowstone Thermal Activity {Chen Family Vacation 2014}

Geysers, hotpools, & mud pots … OH MY! The above is of course, “Old Faithful”, which did you know is not the biggest nor most impressive geyser in the park? It is simply the most predictable geyser in Yellowstone & thus the heart of tourism, as it’s an easy view. My Favorite Little Mister’s favorite though was the Anemone Geyser which he nicknamed “the toilet geyser”. It is the top right photo {with Old Faithful going off in the background…away from the crowds!}. There are 3 small holes in the earth which alternately fill every 7-10 minutes, then burst into spouts of steaming water about 6 feet into the air for a couple minutes, then (& HERE IS THE BEST PART!) drains back into the earth making a toilet flushing gurgling noise! AWESOME! We stayed for about an hour is all. Ha!

The hotpools are beautiful. BUT SMELLY. Sunshine Girl gagged & almost threw up several times. It became quite funny actually. Think of the hot air around you smelling like rotten eggs & that is what the sulpher smell of the earth is like. YUCK.

O.K., Yellowstone is just plain weird. We talked to some “locals” & they gave us a few golden tips: 1. Hike to Fairy Falls, but go beyond it to Imperial Geyser {the above left photo} in which there are no more boardwalks to keep visitors away from delicate thermal areas & random GEYSERS going off next to a mountain! Crazy! 2. On your way back from that hike, once you near the Grand Prismatic Hot Pool {the most famous in Yellowstone}, take the “paths” up a gravelly hill for an upper view of the Grand Prismatic. It was SO cool, but SO slippery & dangerous. {This was not true trails, just “paths” hikers had made & the park ranger highly discouraged us from climbing it as there many broken bones there every year…} We did it anyways & this is Sunshine Girl overlooking the Grand.

Here is some trick photography {which the kids were SUPER into this trip} of My Favorite Little Mister puffing smoke & the bottom photo is Mammoth Hot Springs.

Enjoy!

Grace & Peace,

Julie